The European Parliament decided to suspend the implementation of the trade agreement with the United States pending the repercussions of the US Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated most of the customs duties imposed by Donald Trump. This came after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expected on Sunday that trade agreements with the European Union and China would continue despite his country's Supreme Court decision. On Monday, Beijing urged Washington to cancel its unilateral customs duties, indicating that it was conducting a "comprehensive assessment" of the impact of the US Supreme Court ruling.

Published on: 02/22/2026 - 20:44 Last updated: 02/23/2026 - 19:56

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expected on Sunday that trade agreements concluded by the United States with the European Union, China and other countries would continue, despite the Supreme Court invalidating tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

However, the European Parliament decided on Monday to suspend the procedures for starting the implementation of the trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, pending the repercussions of the US Supreme Court’s decision becoming clear.

Before the European Parliament vote, MP Bernd Lange (of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, left) and the influential head of the International Trade Commission, said at the end of an emergency meeting, “We want the Americans to explain to us how they will implement the decision.”

The other main blocs in the European Parliament - the European People's Party (right), the Renewal Party (centre), and the Green Party - had previously expressed their support for this approach.

The head of the “Renewal” group, Valerie Heyer, stressed that “complete clarity and stability from the American side are essential... However, Trump has provided nothing but the opposite since the beginning of his term.”

Anna Cavazzini of the Green Party added that postponing the vote on the agreement is “a wise decision... in light of the current uncertainty.”

The European Parliament's International Trade Committee was scheduled to vote on implementing this agreement on Tuesday, ahead of a general vote by MPs on March 10.

Parliament previously suspended this process in January due to Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland, then it was reactivated after he abandoned it.

China urges the abolition of duties

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also said in a statement: “China urges the United States to cancel its unilateral customs measures on its trading partners,” noting that it is conducting a “comprehensive assessment” of the impact of the court’s ruling.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said: “The United States is currently planning to take alternative measures, such as trade investigations, to maintain increased tariffs on trading partners. China will continue to pay close attention to this matter and resolutely protect its interests.”

“We expect our partners to respect agreements.”

“We are in serious discussions” with our trade partners, Greer said Sunday morning on CBS’ “Vice the Nation.” He added: "We want them to realize that these agreements will be good agreements, and we are determined to respect them, and we expect our partners to respect them as well."

Read also: The US House of Representatives defies Trump and votes to cancel duties on Canadian goods

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any country that wants to “gamify” after the Supreme Court’s ruling on customs duties will face much higher customs duties.

The court ruled that the customs duties imposed by Trump last year based on the emergency law were illegal, which raised doubts in other countries regarding the trade agreements already signed or pending with the United States.

Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform, “Any country that wants to ‘game’ this ridiculous Supreme Court decision, especially those (countries) that have ‘exploited’ the United States for years, even decades, will face tariffs that are much higher and worse than those they recently agreed to.”

Trump went so far as to accuse the US Supreme Court of being biased towards China.

European statements

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in a separate interview within the same program that she was "unsure" about the repercussions of the Supreme Court's decision.

She added: “It is important that all parties involved in trade have a clear understanding of the future of relations. So I hope that this matter will be clarified and studied sufficiently so that we do not face new challenges again, and that the proposals will respect the American Constitution and legislation.”

The agreement reached between the European Union and the United States last summer after intense negotiations between Brussels and Washington set US tariffs on most European products at 15%, which is much lower than the 30% that the US President threatened to impose.

In return, the European Union has committed to eliminating its tariffs on US imports (which average 4.8%), a step that requires the approval of the European Parliament.

For its part, the European Commission said on Sunday that it expects the United States to respect this trade agreement, after Donald Trump imposed a new global customs tariff of 10%, which he later raised to 15%.

Pending clarifications from Washington, the Europeans fear that this new tariff, if applied to European imports, will increase the tax burden on European products beyond the 15% ceiling stipulated in the agreement signed in 2025.

The European Commission said in a statement issued on Sunday, “An agreement is an agreement. As the largest trading partner of the United States, the European Union expects it to respect the commitments contained in the Joint Declaration, just as the European Union respects its commitments.”

Commission spokesman Olof Gehl confirmed on Monday, "We will make informed decisions as soon as we receive clarifications from the United States."

Other countries have also announced that they are studying the US Supreme Court's decision and subsequent announcements made by Trump regarding tariffs.

On the other hand, the British government seems unconcerned. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman said: "We do not expect this decision to impact the majority of trade under the Economic Prosperity Agreement, including the sectoral tariffs we agreed on in relation to steel, agriculture and cars."

Trump-Xi Jinping summit meeting

Greer explained on ABC that the meeting scheduled for April between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping does not aim to "dispute over trade exchanges."

He said: "It is about maintaining stability, making sure they adhere to the terms of the agreement, buying American agricultural products, Boeing aircraft, etc., and making sure they will provide us with the rare minerals we need." He added that the meeting "is really about supervising the implementation of the agreement." He continued: "If there are any other areas of agreement, we will seek to find them."

Details of the Supreme Court decision and new fees

On Friday, the US Supreme Court invalidated a large portion of the tariffs imposed by Trump based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which was issued in 1977 and theoretically allows the executive authority to act in the economic field without prior approval from Congress.

But the Supreme Court, with the support of the majority of its judges, requested that American legislators agree to implement the customs duties.

Trump later signed an executive order imposing a new global customs tariff of 10%, then raising it to 15% on Saturday, and it is scheduled to take effect on February 24 for a period of 150 days, with exceptions for specific sectors.

Read also: In response to the Supreme Court invalidating a set of his tariffs... Trump announces a comprehensive customs tariff of 10 percent

Assurances of continuity

“It is important to understand that Congress, over the years, has delegated broad powers to the president regarding tariffs,” Greer told CBS, stressing that tariffs applied under other laws “remain in effect.”

“Therefore, we will of course conduct further investigations into the use of these tools to impose tariffs, with the aim of ensuring the continuation of the President’s trade policy,” he added, while acknowledging that these different options do not provide “the same flexibility” as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

When Greer was asked on CBS about raising the fees to 15%, which was decided less than 24 hours after the announcement of imposing a 10% fee, he explained that the president has the authority to raise it to 15%.

He said: “Given the seriousness of the problem we face, which is a big problem, there are many inequalities and imbalances... the state of emergency required him to exercise his full powers.”

In response to an ABC question about Americans not supporting tariffs, he pointed out that Trump has been calling for their implementation “for many years, and he is doing what he said. The policy has not changed.”

France 24/AFP

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